Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Andy Sonnanstine pitched seven strong innings, Ben Zobrist homered again and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 3-0 Saturday night for their sixth straight win.
Zobrist homered for the third game in a row as the Rays increased their AL East lead to a season-high four games over second-place Boston. Tampa Bay has won 10 of 11.
Sonnanstine (10-3) won his fourth consecutive decision. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out two.
J.P Howell pitched the eighth inning and Grant Balfour worked the ninth for his third save.
Akinori Iwamura put the Rays ahead 2-0 with a two-out, two-run double in the second off Zack Greinke (7-5). Royals center fielder Joey Gathright made a dive and just missed catching the ball.
Zobrist homered in the seventh.
Royals right fielder Jose Guillen, involved in a heated exchange with Kansas City pitching coach Bob McClure in the clubhouse before the game, went 0-for-4 and struck out twice.
Guillen and McClure argued face-to-face, but no punches were thrown before players and coaches separated them. Guillen, who unleashed a profanity-filled tirade against his teammates in May, declined to comment on the incident.
Guillen knocked over chairs during the confrontation. Tempers flared after Guillen made a comment about coaches — he then told McClure he wasn’t talking specifically about him.
Kansas City’s David DeJesus went 0-for-4, which stopped his career-high hitting streak at 16 games.
Notes: Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks his team will have just one or two players named to the AL All-Star squad. “If you take a team to the All-Star game, you’d take us,” Maddon said. “But you take individuals. That’s the way this thing works. I’m not going to cry about it, and I hope nobody else does. It’s just the way it is.”.... Royals RHP Leo Nunez is scheduled to start a minor league rehab assignment Monday with Triple-A Omaha. Kansas City LHP John Bale (shoulder-hand) is throwing off a bullpen mound. ... Tampa Bay RHP Al Reyes (right shoulder) threw a 28-pitch simulated game. He could be cleared to start pitching in minor league games this weekend.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.